There seems to be a lifeline for the career of Arian Foster, who will get to work out for the Miami Dolphins and Detroit Lions this week, hoping he gets a shot at playing in the NFL again.
Foster, who has been with the Houston Texans his entire career, will work out for the Dolphins today (Monday) and later this week for the Lions, although if Miami will be impressed, they’ll sign the soon-to-be 30 year old running back on the spot. The Dolphins are quite short at running back after Lamar Miller left in free agency, and they used a third round pick on Kenyan Drake out of Alabama, joining Jay Ajayi, Isaiah Pead, Daniel Thomas and Damien Williams.
The Lions have also seen some turnover at running back this offseason. Joique Bell was released, while Stevan Ridley was signed and 7th round pick Dwayne Washington, who played for Washington in college as well, was signed on a four-year deal worth $2.4 million. Ameer Abdullah, Theo Riddick, George Winn and Zach Zenner are the other running backs on the list.
What does Foster have left? Hard to tell. He played just four games last season, getting a total of 163 yards, missing 8 or more games for the second time in three years, practically ending his relationship with the Texans. In the league since 2009, when he’s been healthy, he’s been terrific, rushing for over 1000 yards for times between 2010 and 2014, including an NFL best 1616 yards in 2010. He led the league in touchdowns twice (2010, 2012), has four Pro Bowl selections and one first team All-Pro mentions.
If Foster struggles to find a team during this offseason or later on when injuries start opening roster spots, it’s probably safe to say he won’t play in the NFL ever again. It was highly doubtful heading into this offseason.